


The Mission

by writingisgiving



Series: Back In Star City [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Married Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Swearing, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 05:58:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18867154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingisgiving/pseuds/writingisgiving
Summary: Oliver and Felicity help out on a mission. Mia and Oliver finally talk.





	The Mission

“Felicity, have you seen my shirt?” Oliver called out from the bathroom, voice slightly muffled by the toothbrush in his mouth. They were both set up in one of the rooms in the bunker, getting ready for bed. A few hours had passed since they told their children about what had happened while they were gone. Oliver and Felicity had taken in their children’s tearstained faces and then promptly agreed that they needed to sleep on it. It had been a lot of information dumped on them in a very short amount of time. They could save the discussion for another day.  

 

“No, honey. No idea,” she replied. Oliver’s brow furrowed as he looked around the bathroom, checking around the toilet again and then the cabinets. It wasn’t a very large space and his pants had been right where he’d left them after his shower. He had foregone wearing them, not wanting to sleep in jeans. He was sure that staying in boxers and a t-shirt would be enough to ward off the bunker chill.

 

“Did someone come in then?” He asked, spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing quickly. Logically, he knew that the bunker was safe and anyone that had come in would mean no harm. But decades of fighting wars had left his instincts on high alert. He heard a quiet “nope” from the bedroom and walked out of the bathroom quickly, heart racing.

 

He stopped in his tracks when he saw his wife, and then rolled his eyes. She was laid out on the bed, wearing the t-shirt he had been asking about, her own sweater and jeans discarded on the nearby chair. She had his sweater wrapped around her shoulders like a blanket as she gripped a tablet in her hands, eyes laser-focused on the screen. She was absently biting her thumbnail, a habit that had recently developed.

 

Oliver stared at her, waiting for an acknowledgement. But Felicity didn’t move. Apparently, the tablet was incredibly fascinating. Where she had gotten it, considering they had no luggage, he didn’t know.

 

He sighed before moving towards the bed. He sat down slowly, as if he was just getting ready to sleep. She turned her head slightly, smiling distractedly in his direction before turning back to the device.

 

Oliver made a show of fixing his pillow and rearranging the blankets. When he was sure that Felicity was lost in the tablet once more, his hand shot out, taking the rectangular device from her hands.

 

“Hey!” She gasped, reaching out to grab his arm, but he was too quick. In less than a second, the tablet was placed on his bedside table, too far away for her to reach without disrupting the cocoon she had made with his sweater.

 

“That was mean.” Felicity glared at him, and it might have been a little threatening if she wasn’t naked from the waist down and absolutely buried in fabric from the waist up.

 

Oliver just pursed his lips, completely unapologetic. His eyes meaningfully ran down her body, lingering on her bare legs, before making his way back up to her eyes. She didn’t move, a perfect look of innocence painted on her angelic face.

 

“Still haven’t seen my shirt, honey?” He asked casually. She bit her lip, the façade of innocence falling away. Instead, she purposely widened her eyes before placing her chin on his bare chest, batting her eyelashes. He internally sighed, already knowing he would give in. He had won 341 wars but one look into her eyes and he was gone.

 

“I was cold,” she whispered as she pressed her lips right over his heart. He chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist and sliding them both down until their heads reached their pillows. He hummed, pulling the blankets over their bodies.

 

“Fine. You can keep my clothes but you can’t hog the blankets then.” Oliver felt Felicity smile against his chest. He wrapped himself around her, holding on to her tightly before closing his eyes. He felt her eyes on him, staring like she did sometimes. He pretended not to notice, knowing that she needed it. They hadn’t explicitly talked about it but he knew she did it to remind herself that he was there. That he wasn’t gone forever but that they were together.

 

He distantly heard her sigh as he fell into the darkness, drifting off with her body intertwined with his.

 

 

_It was dark, so dark. The air was so humid, he could barely breathe. All around him were the sounds of explosives, of guns shooting, of men crying out. Leather was plastered to his body, glued on by sweat. He could feel blood dripping from his hood. He needed to get out. Save them. Save them all..._

 

A loud banging sounded and his eyes snapped open. Oliver breathed harshly as the view of the pale white ceiling came into view. 

Next to him, Felicity stirred but stayed asleep. Her head was pillowed on his chest, nuzzling into him as if she could tell he needed the comfort. 

He sighed in relief, closing his eyes again.

 

But then a knock sounded on the door and it took him a second to match the sound to the banging he had heard in his sleep. His eyes snapped open again, going to the door. 

When the knock came again, he carefully extracted himself from Felicity’s grip, making sure to move slowly as to not wake her, and then got up from the bed. When he opened the door, he saw Mia’s hand posed to knock again which quickly fell back when she saw him. He saw her eyes widen as she took in his bare chest, probably because of the numerous jagged lines littered across it. His journey throughout the universes had only added to his scar count.

 

But her stare didn’t last long. She quickly stepped back and craned her head to look up at him. 

 

“Hi.” She greeted hesitantly and Oliver smiled. She looked so tiny in her pajamas, so different from the leather jacket and boots he had seen her in yesterday. 

“Hey.” He stepped back to let her in the room, but she didn’t move. Her eyes moved away to stare at the wall next to the door.

 

“There’s breakfast downstairs. Will told me to come get you guys,” she muttered, eyes darting up quickly before looking away again. 

 

Oliver nodded, not knowing what else to do. She was making it obvious he made her uncomfortable but he didn’t know how to fix that. 

 

“Your mom is still asleep,” he finally said into the silence. “Once she wakes up we’ll come down.” 

 

She nodded quickly, and before he could say anything else, she was walking away. He watched her leave, heart sinking in his chest. 

 

 

After Felicity woke up, they both freshened up and went downstairs. He made a mental note to go out and get some new clothes soon. The ones they had been wearing for the past few days would only hold out for so long.  

 

They found Will and Mia sitting at the conference table, a box of donuts in front of them. Mia was back in her leather jacket and boots, reaching for a donut that Will held out of her reach. She had a look of mock frustration as she swiped at William, while he laughed at her. They were sitting next to a dark-haired girl who was fondly rolling her eyes at their antics. Across from them sat a boy who looked vaguely familiar, with shortly cropped hair and dark skin. He was watching Mia with amusement, eyes never looking away. 

 

Oliver didn’t know where he had seen the boy before, only that there was something about him. He would have to ask Felicity later. And also ask why the boy was staring at his baby girl like she was the sun. He did not like that.

 

“Hey, you guys made it!” William’s voice broke him out of his reverie. He slid the box of donuts over to them, which Felicity happily caught. She nearly tore open the box and took one out, stuffing it in her mouth and humming happily.

 

“Oh God, donuts.” She moaned as she chewed, eyes closing in what looked like pure bliss. Oliver stared at her, slightly insulted. She hadn’t even tried anything with him last night but was treating that donut like it was the love of her life. He would have to fix that soon.  

 

“God, mom it’s just a donut.” Mia moved to pick up a cup from the stack before placing it under what looked like a coffee machine. “We have coffee too in case you don’t choke on that thing.”

 

“Hey, I haven’t had a donut in five years!” Felicity huffed, reaching into the box for another one. “And these are from that bakery down the street, right? They’ve been in business since the OTA days. There were times when that bakery was the only thing that kept me alive down here.” Felicity turned towards him, politely offering the donut in her hand. He smirked slightly before declining. She nodded like he had made the right decision before stuffing it in her mouth.

 

The whole conference table gawked as Felicity finished off three more donuts. Oliver wished he was surprised. His wife had always been an enthusiastic eater. It’s a miracle her body never showed any signs of it.

 

His musings were interrupted by a cup of coffee being handed to him. He fought to control his shock when he saw that Mia was handing him the cup.

 

“Has she always been like this?” She murmured faintly, still staring at her mother. Oliver barely registered the question, too caught up in the fact that his daughter was actually talking to him. And not only that but was asking him a question! Which he needed to answer. Right away before he scared her off.

 

“Yeah, she sure has.” Oliver cleared his throat, taking a sip from the cup. It was black and steaming, just the way he liked it. “I have on good authority that even The Flash can’t keep up with her.”

 

To his surprise, Mia actually giggled. It was a small sound, barely a laugh. But it might as well have been a full-on guffaw with the way his heart soared. He smiled at the sound, turning to look at her.

 

Mia was staring at his coffee cup, looking like something was on her mind. Just when he had gathered the courage to ask if something was wrong, the dark-haired girl stood up.

 

“Alright, breakfast is over. We need to talk about the mission,” she announced. Immediately, Mia’s posture changed. She hurriedly placed her own coffee cup down before making her way to the head of the table. The food was rapidly put away.

 

It quickly became obvious that this wasn’t a normal breakfast meeting. This was a mission briefing.

 

Everyone took their seats and looked over at Mia, waiting for her to speak. Oliver and Felicity shared a look, impressed by how much authority their daughter yielded.

 

“So everyone knows the details” Mia began, hands casually in her jacket pockets. “We’ve been planning this bust for weeks. The Silver Daggers have been running drugs through the city for months but they’ve been impossible to track down because they randomize their drop off days and don’t keep any online records. But we had the Canaries find one of their regular trucks and plant a listening device on it. And we got a drop off date and time. Which is today in,” she made a show of checking her watch, “two hours.” 

 

Her fingers drummed on the table impatiently. “The plan is simple. We burst in, kick their asses, and destroy the drugs. The Canaries will handle the losers, Will is on comms, and Connor and I will destroy the drugs. Any questions?” She huffed the last part, glaring around the table as if daring anyone to raise their hands. No one made a move.

 

But then William raised his hand. Mia raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. “Is there a problem, William?” She asked mockingly.

 

“Actually, I was thinking of going out in the field too,” he mentioned nonchalantly. Everyone turned to him, varying looks of disbelief on their faces. Mia actually laughed, like he was making a joke.

 

“That’s very funny, Will. Alright, everyone in —”

 

“No, I’m serious!” He interrupted, before gesturing to Felicity. “Felicity can run comms no problem and I think you need more than just you and Connor to destroy all the merchandise.”

 

Mia stared at him. “Will, we don’t have time to protect you,” she said calmly. William huffed.

 

“I can fight, Mia. I might not be the next Karate Kid like you but I can take care of myself,” he defended. Mia’s eyebrows furrowed.

 

“Who’s the Karate Kid?” She asked, bewildered. William just groaned.

 

“I don’t mind being on comms,” Felicity piped up. She turned to Oliver, smiling. “It would be nice to have a low-key mission for once.” Oliver chuckled, nodding.

 

“I can’t believe I’m the only one doing nothing,” he muttered.

 

She grinned, patting his chest. “I think you’ve more than earned a break, my love.”

 

“Okay, glad that’s settled” Mia interrupted. “We leave in half an hour. Zoe, get the Canaries ready. Will, show Mom the set up. I want everyone suited up and ready to go by then. Dismissed.”

 

Mia walked away from the front of the table, reaching for her abandoned coffee as everyone dispersed. Oliver and Felicity made their way over to her, Felicity reaching for her as soon as she got close enough.

 

“Honey, that was so good” she cooed, stroking Mia’s hair before cupping her cheeks. Mia gave her a look, half-heartedly batting her hands away.

 

“Mom! God, this wasn’t a talent show. Stop that,” Mia grumbled. Felicity just sighed, giving her a loving look. Mia huffed, rolling her eyes.

 

“Will, please take her to the computers. I think the donuts got to her.” Mia stomped away, muttering darkly.

 

Felicity pouted as she walked away. Oliver chuckled, pressing his lips to her hair. “I wasn’t that bad, was I?” She asked, shoulders dropping.

 

“That was like watching you and Donna all over again,” he commented. Felicity stiffened in his grip, jaw dropping as she turned look at him.

 

“How dare —”

 

“Okay!” William came up to them, a tablet in his hands. He looked up to find Felicity’s enraged face and stopped short. He looked between them, hesitating. “Is this a bad time?”

 

Oliver just grinned. “No, buddy. Why don’t you show us where we’ll be?” William nodded and started walking. Felicity’s eyes narrowed as Oliver moved to follow.

 

“This conversation isn’t over, mister.”

 

Oliver just nodded obediently, hiding his smile.

 

 

The layout of their control system was similar to what Felicity had set up in their own bunker. She took to it like a bee to honey, fingers flying over the keyboard like it was made for her.

 

“The drop off is happening in an abandoned warehouse a few miles from the city. It’s a pretty well used building so there are security cameras we can hack into.” William explained as his hands moved over a hologram of the warehouse blueprints.

 

“We also have a list of some of the guys scheduled to make the drop off. It’s not a full list because this is just information we got from the listening device but we have an estimated 200 people there. All low-level workers. There are rumors that the boss will make an appearance but nothing confirmed.”

 

Oliver’s brow furrowed as he looked over the list of workers. Something felt off.

 

“There are 200 people coming to make the drop?” He asked as he looked over the hologram. The warehouse looked small.

 

“Yeah, it’s a big shipment,” William replied easily. He ran a hand through his hair. “Do you think I should wear a suit? Or just like black everything? I want to make a good impression.”

 

Felicity laughed from her position on the monitors. “You can never go wrong with black everything. Way less conspicuous,” she winked.

 

William said something back but Oliver didn’t hear him. He stared at the hologram, thinking.

 

“Will, are you sure the drop off is today?” Oliver turned to him, hands going to his hips. William raised an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, Dad. We’ve been tracking their conversations for weeks. They said today at 10 am.”

 

“Don’t you think it’s weird that they’re doing a shipment in broad daylight?” Oliver didn’t want to come off as too questioning, in case it looked like he doubted William’s skills, but something felt wrong.

 

“I mean, they’re smart. They probably know that no one expects them to do a drop off at this time of day. It explains why the SCPD doesn’t even know about them.” But despite William’s words, he now looked unsure. Oliver looked to Felicity, who had gotten up and was staring at the list of workers as well. He could tell she had the same feeling he did. Something wasn’t right. 

 

But before Oliver could say more, Mia suddenly came bounding up the steps. His eyes widened when he took in her suit.

 

She was dressed up in a remarkable replica of his old suit. The emerald green jacket and leather pants were smaller, designed to fit her petite frame. Across her back rested his cache of arrows with his bow gripped tightly in her hand. Her blonde hair was tied back and his mask rested on her face, completing the look.

 

She was the Green Arrow.

 

Oliver’s legs nearly gave out.

 

Felicity, probably sensing Oliver’s mess of emotions, wrapped a hand around his arm. He exhaled at her touch, not even realizing that he had stopped breathing.

 

Mia, probably noticing the look of abject terror on his face, raised an eyebrow. He fought to control his face. Or at least make it look like he wasn’t about to die from a heart attack. The Monitor had tried so hard to make him die by throwing all those wars at him. _He shouldn’t have wasted all that effort,_ Oliver thought dryly.

 

“Everyone ready?” Mia asked, looking towards William.

 

William nodded, tapping a few times on his tablet. “Zoe says the Canaries are ready to head out. Connor is already on his way there,” William reported. Mia nodded and turned to walk away.

 

“This mission doesn’t seem very solid,” Oliver blurted out before he could stop himself. Immediately, the tension in the room skyrocketed. Mia slowly turned back to him.

 

“What?” She finally asked, eyes narrowing. Oliver pursed his lips, wondering how he could phrase this without stepping on her toes too much.

 

“I think what your dad means to say,” Felicity stepped in, “is that there are factors that don’t make much sense.” She stepped towards Mia, whose eyes softened slightly at the sight of her mother.

 

“We know what we’re doing, Mom” she said. She then looked at Oliver coldly, the warmth from before nonexistent. “And we don’t need people that haven’t done their research to start questioning it.”

 

Oliver nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “I know I haven’t looked into this as much as you guys have,” he admitted, “but I’ve been doing this long enough to recognize when things don’t look right.” He raised his hands in surrender. “All I’m suggesting is that you don’t go out there right now. It could be a trap.”

 

William stepped in, holding the tablet out. “Mia, look at —”

 

Mia rolled her eyes, stepping back from William. Annoyance dripped off her as she looked at Oliver.  “While we appreciate your concern,” she spat, “you’re wrong. We’ve been tracking that listening device for weeks. This mission is happening.”

 

She then glared at William. “Are you coming or staying?” Her voice was hard.

 

William visibly hesitated, gripping the tablet. Mia raised an eyebrow, challenging him. Finally, he deflated. “I’m coming.”

 

She nodded, a bit too triumphantly in Oliver’s opinion. “Good. Get dressed and then join Zoe.” With that, she walked away, making her way down the stairs.

 

William hurried off too, tablet still clutched in his hands.

 

Oliver sighed, watching his children leave. Felicity circled her fingers around his wrist. “What are you thinking?” She murmured, tracing patterns on his wrist. The touch calmed his raging worry somewhat.

 

“Pray I’m wrong,” he finally said. Her hand tightened on his wrist, her own worry shining through.

 

 

It took only a few minutes for Felicity to hack into the building’s security cameras. She was positioned in front of the monitors, reminding her of the OTA days. She was surprised to see that she had missed the feeling of managing an entire team. When it had just been her and Oliver on the field, she barely had to do much except lead him through buildings.

 

“Alright, coast looks clear. Canaries, you are right on position. I hacked into the GPS satellites of the trucks and they are on their way. They’ll be entering the warehouse from the back. Mia, Connor, William; you guys have to get to the trucks as soon as they pull in.”

 

They all said their affirmatives and Felicity relaxed slightly, muting her side of the comms. Oliver was seated next to her, eyes boring into the monitors. The first monitor showed the security camera footage. She had one placed on Mia’s position from where she was crouched in a small space on the ceiling platforms. Another one showed Connor and William on the floor, hidden behind some containers. The last one was a view outside the warehouse, showing a few Canaries in position.

The other monitor had the GPS satellite tracking system opened up. It showed the trucks heading to the warehouse, but their location was far enough that the team didn’t have to be on high alert yet.

 

Oliver, however, did not get that memo. She didn’t have to look at him to know that his shoulders were tense and that he was watching the security camera footage like if he stared hard enough, he could will himself there too.

 

“Oliver,” she said softly. She reached for his hand, tangling her fingers with his. He gripped on tightly, eyes never leaving the screen.

 

“Everything is going to be fine,” she said reassuringly. But even as she uttered the words, she could feel a dark, twisting feeling in her chest. Oliver had been right earlier when he noticed the discrepancies in the plans. She had enough experience as the Green Arrow’s personal IT expert to know when a drug shipment looked off. But Mia had not wanted to hear it. And she also knew that there was no stopping Mia when she had her head stuck on something.

 

“Whatever happens, we’ll be here to help them through it” she finally whispered. That seemed to get through to him. He nodded, his death grip on her hand loosening somewhat.

 

Finally, the GPS signal got close enough to the warehouse to signal show time. She unmuted her side of the comms and announced that they should all prepare themselves.

 

Then, as these things go, everything happened at once. The workers reached the warehouse, parking their trucks out front. Felicity’s eyebrows furrowed as she watched the trucks. She switched the camera that had been watching the canaries to view the back entrance, which was set up specifically for trunks to enter through. It was completely empty.

 

“Felicity,” Oliver muttered lowly and Felicity nodded, fingers flying over the keyboard. Something was wrong. Very very wrong.

 

“Guys, the trucks are out front. They’re not unloading them.” Felicity fought to maintain control of her voice as she switched between cameras.

 

“What are they doing?” William asked, panic obvious in his voice.

 

“They’re making their way inside. You guys have to be ready. Canaries, do you copy?”

 

But there was silence from the Canaries. Felicity switched to the outside cameras, hurriedly. Oliver leapt up from his seat, hands going up to run over his head then neck.

 

“It’s a trap,” he cursed.

 

“Zoe, do you copy?” Her voice turned slightly hysterical. She couldn’t get a good view from the cameras. But she could make out the sounds of bodies being thrown around and grunting from the comms. There was definitely a fight going on.

 

“They have some sort of needle,” she finally heard Zoe gasp. “I don’t know what’s in it but they’ve knocked out three of the Canaries. They’re shooting them and they’re _really_ good shots.” The sounds of punching accompanied Zoe’s words and Oliver’s fists came down on the desk next to the monitors. Felicity ignored him.

 

“Mia, Connor, Will?” No response but the sounds of grunting.

 

“Did you guys get that? Avoid being hit by needles” Felicity demanded.

 

“Yeah, got it” Mia bit out hurriedly. Felicity switched from the outside view back to inside. The scene was chaotic. There were too many workers, easily outnumbering William, Mia, and Connor. Mia was shooting as many as she could from up high but she was quickly running out of arrows. Felicity saw her shrug off her shoulder strap and place her bow safely in the corner, before jumping off her perch. She disappeared into the mess of bodies.

 

“Can you get a better view?” Oliver asked quietly, coming back over to her. Her fingers spasmed over the keyboard for a second, blind horror filling her chest. There were just so many people. Her daughter was just a blonde head in a sea of henchmen.

 

She hid her shaking by cracking her knuckles, and then set to reordering the cameras. She opened up another window, running facial recognition and writing a code to look for anything out of the ordinary.

 

“I can’t get a better view but I can see if I can find anything that can help,” she mumbled, eyes focused on the screen. She heard Oliver take a seat again, arm resting on her chair. She smiled weakly at his silent support.

 

“Mom!” She heard Mia call out and her heart froze at the sound. Mia didn’t sound like herself. She sounded…weaker. Desperate.

 

“Mia?” Felicity cried out, abandoning facial recognition of the thugs and instead programming it to look for her daughter’s face.

 

She found her with a thug’s arm around her, holding her down as his other arm stabbed a needle into Mia’s neck. Felicity stopped breathing.

 

“Oh my God, Mia” she whispered. Faintly, she heard Oliver curse.

 

“Felicity, I need you to zoom in on the needle,” Oliver demanded. Felicity gulped before doing as he said. She zoomed in on the faint label, trying to fix the image to make it more clear. Once the image became clear enough, she knew what Oliver was thinking.

 

“Criton,” she read off, horror filling her chest. That didn’t make any sense. How did the drug that they had spent months destroying on another Earth end up on their Earth?

 

“Mia. You need to listen to me.” Oliver stared at the screen desperately, waiting for some sort of response. Eventually, they got a weak groan. They both watched as she struggled against the thug’s grip.

 

“Mia, you need to stop moving,” he commanded.

 

“What?” Her voice was so faint. Felicity worked to stop the hysterical sob crawling up her chest.

 

“The more you move, the faster the drug is gonna go through your system. It works with adrenaline. You need to relax,” Oliver pleaded, fists clenching.

 

They saw Mia go slack in the thug’s grip and Oliver sighed in relief. The thug let go of her, thinking she had been knocked out. He took out a pair of handcuffs and chained her to a wooden beam sticking out from the floor before running towards the truck.

 

“Okay. The drug doesn’t last long. As long as you stay calm, it should filter out without doing anything. But you need to stay calm.”

 

Mia groaned some sort of acknowledgement and stayed still. Felicity reprogrammed the other cameras to find Connor and William, praying that they hadn’t been hit. She found them soon enough and luckily, they seemed fine. She ordered them to retreat as soon as possible.

 

A few minutes later, they both watched as Mia got out of the cuffs easily. She shakily got up and fought off the mass of bodies long enough to get her bow and arrows.

 

“Are the Canaries okay?” They heard her ask.

 

Felicity sighed. “No. A lot of them got shot. Zoe’s on her way back with them now. Will and Connor managed to get away too. But you need to get out of there, Mia. Their main target is you.” Felicity saw the same thug from before getting into the truck, starting it up, and then driving it straight through the warehouse wall.

 

“And they are very determined to get you. Get out. Now.”

 

Mia groaned out an agreement. She shot out a grappling arrow and flew out of the warehouse, her body disappearing from the cameras’ view.

 

Felicity exhaled sharply.

 

So much for a low-key mission. 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________

“Zoe, we made it out! God, calm down.” Mia hurried out of the elevator, running up the steps to where her parents were standing. Felicity met her halfway and crushed her into a hug. She couldn’t help but linger, the images of Mia being held by that thug replaying in her mind over and over. Mia allowed the touch, hugging her back just as hard. “I’m okay, mom,” she mumbled. Felicity nodded, reluctantly letting go.

 

William then limped into view and Felicity went to wrap her arms around him. He noticeably flinched at the touch which made her pull back. He was cradling his arm against his chest.

 

“Hey, let me look at that,” Oliver suggested. He gently pulled William to the side, examining his arm.

 

“So much for me going out in the field huh?” William weakly chuckled as Oliver rolled his sleeve up. “I don’t think it’s for me.”  

 

“Mia, it was a trap! We barely got out of there alive!” Zoe stormed in, stepping in front of Mia. “I put my Canaries at risk because you said the mission was full proof!”

 

“Someone leaked our plan, Zoe. And when I find out who it is, I’ll rip their face off.” Mia’s voice was low, threatening as she pushed Zoe out of her way.

 

Zoe stared after her. “Will told me that he had doubts about the mission,” she called out to her retreating back. Mia stopped in her tracks. She turned around slowly.

 

“The mission was fine,” she gritted out. “We just got played. Probably by one of your Canaries. And when I find out who spilled, they’re going to wish they had never been born.”

 

Zoe pursed her lips, arms crossing over her chest. “This wasn’t one of my Canaries, Mia.” Mia huffed, moving to walk away. “This was all you.”

 

“Yeah,” she drawled. “Fine. If you need someone to blame, go ahead.” The two girls glared at each other.

 

“Uh, guys?” Felicity spoke up then, breaking the tension. She waved around a syringe. “Anybody want the cure to the drug that they got shot up with?”

 

Mia was the first to look away. She walked back up the steps to Felicity.

 

“This contains an antidote to the drug they put you under. You might not need it anymore but it would be good to take it anyway.” Felicity explained, then turned to look at Zoe.

 

“I can make some for the Canaries that got shot. Just let me know how many.” Zoe nodded gratefully. But then turned back to Mia.

 

“We’re done, Mia” she announced coldly. Mia raised an eyebrow.

 

“Done with what? The mission? I think we all know that since we’re back in the bunker,” the blonde snapped.

 

But Zoe didn’t flinch. “No. We’re done with you. I get that you have things going on right now but what happened today was completely unacceptable.” She walked over until she was only a foot away from Mia, looking straight into her eyes.

 

“The Canaries no longer follow the Green Arrow.”

 

Mia laughed, like Zoe was making a joke. But Zoe didn’t move. She stared down at her until Mia’s eyes narrowed.

 

“Who the hell do you think you are?” She growled harshly.  

 

“You put us all at risk today. Obviously, you have a lot on your mind right now and I get that. But I can’t let your personal problems get in the way of my Canaries’ safety, Mia. Until you figure your crap out, the Canaries don’t follow you.” Zoe’s voice was empty, detached.

 

Mia stared down at her, like she was waiting for something. When Zoe stayed silent, Mia scoffed.

 

“Fine. Don’t follow me. I don’t need you,” she said coldly. Oliver watched as Mia stormed away, fuming. The team watched her leave until she disappeared into the bunker.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

A loud crash sounded from the room, making Oliver pause. His hand hovered over the doorknob, hesitating. 

 

It’s possible that what he was about to do was a bad idea. He didn’t even have a plan, really. Maybe he should come up with one and then come back. No soldier walks into a battle field without a plan after all.

 

But then he heard a muffled scream followed by another crash and his mind was made up. He couldn’t put this off any longer. 

 

Oliver turned the doorknob, and was surprised to find it giving away easily to the motion. So, Mia didn’t think to lock the door behind her, he thought vaguely. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. 

 

He stepped into the room, eyes immediately finding his daughter. Mia had a thick silver pole in her hands that she was using to smash the crates littered around the space. Her movements were nothing like her moves on the field. She had been graceful then, quick and calculating. Now she was brutal, her acts of destruction fueled by unadulterated anger. Her hits were choppy, her arms wildly swinging the pole over the crushed wood over and over. 

 

He caught glimpses of her face when her hair swung back with her movements. His heart lurched when he saw tear tracks. He had expected her to be angry, furious even, but not…devastated.

 

“Mia?” He asked quietly. He might have been too quiet. He fully expected her to keep swinging, but her hits halted at the sound of his voice. Her head swung around to face him, eyes widening. But just as quickly, they narrowed. Her head bent down to stare at the stick, avoiding his eyes.

 

“I have nothing to say to you,” she spat out. Oliver hid his wince with a nod, staring down at the floor. His arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the doorway.

 

“That’s okay.” He said coolly. “I have plenty I want to say to you.”

 

She huffed, rolling her eyes to the ceiling before turning away from him, walking to the other side of the room. Oliver took that as a cue to enter, looking around at the destruction. The space was obviously some type of storage unit, with wooden boxes and crates littering the floor. Most of them were in pieces, nothing but remnants of Mia’s anger.  

 

He saw her place the pole on the floor before turning back to him. She smiled sarcastically, head tilting.

 

“Am I going to get a lecture, Daddy?” She said the last word sweetly, batting her eyes mockingly. Oliver’s lips pursed. He thought about just walking away and asking Felicity to take care of this. She had always been better at the pep talks. Mia looked like she had no intention of taking him seriously.

 

But he knew he couldn’t keep running away from her. He couldn’t keep giving Mia the power to scare him off and make him submit to her will. They would never get anywhere that way.

 

“I don’t have a lecture, Mia” he said softly. She scoffed, kicking a piece of wood across the room. Oliver ignored the movement. “I’m just worried about you.”

 

“I don’t need you to worry” she snarled, stomping to the other side of the room. Oliver couldn’t help but think of her as a caged animal as she paced back and forth. She was restless, fists twitching like she needed to punch something.

 

Distantly, he wondered if this was how he had been like when he had returned from the island. Back when bloodlust and vengeance had controlled his every thought. The thought of passing that pain over to his baby girl was depressing. 

 

“Look, I know what it’s like to be under the pressure of being out in the field,” he began. Mia whirled around to face him, eyes blazing.

 

“I wasn’t under any pressure, _Oliver_.”

 

Oliver closed his eyes, counting backwards from ten.

 

“I had everything under control. I didn’t need your help.” Mia kicked another piece of wood harshly, this one flying out and hitting his leg.

 

And just like that, he felt something inside him snap.

 

“You had everything under control?” He asked, voice low and disbelieving. “If your mother wasn’t an expert hacker, I would be tempted to ask if we were hacked into the right security cameras because _nothing_ , Mia” he emphasized loudly, “was under control from where we were standing.” He heard her growl as she resumed her pacing.

 

“No, you know what, Mia? You are getting a lecture. Sit. Down.”

 

She stared at him incredulously. He just raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to one of the surviving crates.

 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

 

“Nope. I am not kidding you. Sit down.”

 

Mia stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to take it back. Like any minute, he would realize that he was being insane and would walk out of the room in shame.

 

Oliver stayed silent.

 

They stayed that way, a battle of wills, for a long time. A part of Oliver wondered if this was leading up to a physical fight. As much as he wanted Mia to listen to him, he was not prepared to fight his baby girl. He would rather relive the last 25 years than ever hurt her.

 

Eventually, Mia huffed and took a seat on the crate. She made a mocking “ta da” motion as she gestured to her body sitting down. “Happy now?”

 

“Yes, actually.” Oliver brought over another surviving crate and placed it in front of her, taking his own seat. He saw her duck her head, wavy blonde hair falling around her face and hiding it from his view. Her hands twisted in her lap, strikingly similar to how Felicity twisted her hands when she was nervous.

 

“You were rash and completely irresponsible out there,” he scolded. “Do you know what happens when you act without thinking in the field, Mia?” She didn’t look at him, focused on her hands. “Your team ends up dead.”

 

Her head snapped up at that, obviously not expecting his words.

 

“My team?” She blurted out before snapping her mouth shut, as if she spoke without meaning to.

 

Oliver nodded. “I’ve seen you fight. I know that you can handle yourself. You were trained by the head of the League of Assassins. Your ability is not the problem.”

 

His voice then gentled. “But your team hasn’t gone through the same training you have.” Her gaze went back to her hands, but he was happy to see that she was no longer hiding from him. “They look to you for guidance. When they go out on the field, they are putting their lives in your hands. You need to make them your absolute priority, even above the mission.”

 

He waited for Mia to say something. Waited for some type of acknowledgement. He was relieved that she didn’t look like she wanted to punch him. She actually looked deep in thought.

 

“Is that what you did when you were out in the field?” She finally asked, words so quiet he almost didn’t hear them.

 

Oliver hesitated. “It’s what I tried to do. I wasn’t always successful.” His gaze turned to his own hands, spinning his wedding ring over his finger. Years of buried regret flashed before his eyes, images of people he had lost. It had taken him a long time to realize that the mission would always come second to the people he loved. He didn’t want Mia to have to suffer through learning the same lesson.

 

“You weren’t always successful?” He heard her snort. Oliver’s brow furrowed.

 

“What do you mean?” He asked, confused.

 

“Nothing. Just that everyone in Star City thinks of you as the greatest hero that ever lived. And mom never shuts up about how you were the best leader they could have ever asked for,” she mumbled petulantly. Oliver’s eyes widened at that.

 

“Hell, William says that you were the perfect hero. Dinah, Rene, even Roy say that you were amazing. You never missed a shot, you always made the right call, and you never hesitated to do the right thing.” Her words were said nonchalantly, as if she was reciting something that she had heard in the past, word for word. He could hear the forced casualness in her voice, her attempt to look like she didn’t care. “What happened today would have never happened if you had led that mission,” she finally mumbled, clenching her fists.

 

Oliver gaped at her. He didn’t know where to start. Everything she had said was so completely wrong he wanted to laugh. His heart hurt at the pain in her voice. And suddenly her point of view became so incredibly clear to him. Her distance, her fear, her anger; it all made so much sense.

 

“Honey.” The word slipped out before he actively thought about it. Her head snapped up at the endearment but he kept going, hoping it wouldn’t scare her off. “That’s not even a little true.”

 

She paused, eyebrows furrowing. “What?”

 

Oliver couldn’t help but smile. “I think that’s the thing about death,” he said gently. “When someone dies, we’re tempted to think the best of them. All of their flaws disappear from our minds because we only think of what we lost.” He sighed, remembering his own parents. They had both made so many mistakes but when he thought about them, all he remembered were his mother’s hugs, his father’s jokes, and their combined love. Nothing created a better pedestal than death, he thought wryly.

 

“But I can tell you that I made so many mistakes. I made them when I was starting out and I made them right before I retired. I never stopped making them.”

 

Mia was staring at him like he had told her the sky was actually brown. She laughed lightly, like she expected the punchline at any moment.

 

Oliver shrugged. “I’m sorry if that disappoints you.”

 

Her eyes narrowed. “So what was that about me being rash and irresponsible and getting my team killed?” She asked suspiciously.

 

Oliver winced slightly. “Experience.”

 

Her eyes widened. Oliver suppressed a laugh at her expression. He really needed to ask Felicity about what she had been telling Mia all these years. Obviously, his broodiness and recklessness hadn’t made it into any of those stories. 

 

“You’re never going to be a perfect leader, Mia. There are always going to be decisions that have no right outcome. You just have to keep trying and eventually it’ll get easier,” Oliver said simply.

 

Mia didn’t say anything, lost in thought.

 

“I guess I just wanted to impress you,” she finally sighed. “Everyone always says I’m exactly like you and I just wanted to” she paused, biting her lip. Oliver tilted his head, waiting for her to continue.

 

Her voice turned quiet. He had to strain to hear her mumbles. “I just wanted to make you proud.” She hesitated. “I guess when you started questioning the mission, I felt like you were questioning me. Like you didn’t think I could do it.”

 

A breath escaped Oliver at the words. He couldn’t help but smile as she squirmed, avoiding his eyes by glaring into her hands. The words had obviously taken a lot out of her. After a few seconds, she peered up at him slightly, but then her eyes narrowed at his face.

 

“Ugh, what?” She snapped. Oliver’s eyes widened.

 

“What?” He defended.

 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” The restlessness was back, her hands clenching and unclenching.

 

“I’m not looking at you like anything.” He couldn’t help the amusement in his voice. He had been so afraid of her the past few days, walking on eggshells and waiting for some type of sign that she wanted him in her life. This was more than he could have ever dreamed.

 

“You’re looking at me like how Mom looks at puppies,” she grumbled and he laughed. He couldn’t help it. His heart felt so light. He had only known his daughter for two days but he already loved her. So much.

 

“I’m always going to be proud of you, Mia. Always,” he finally said. He made sure to look into her eyes as he spoke, wanting her to understand. “Whether you’re using my bow or leading a team or even walking down the street, I will always be so proud of you.”

 

He wavered slightly, not sure if he should say what he wanted to say next. But who knew if they would ever get a moment like this again and he needed her to know. “And I will always love you. No matter what.”

 

Mia was staring off to his side, avoiding his gaze. But Oliver could see the tears forming, highlighting the blue in her eyes.

 

“You don’t even know me” she finally mumbled, a tear falling down her cheek.

 

Oliver smiled, reaching up to wipe away the tear gently.

 

“I know,” he finally murmured. “But I want to.” Oliver could feel tears stinging his eyes as well. “If you’ll let me.”

 

Mia stared down at her hands, and for a second Oliver was afraid he had ruined everything. That she would say no, that this was too much, and she would leave.

 

But then she nodded and smiled slightly. The motion lit up her face, making her look as angelic as her mother.

 

“I think I would like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments. Reading them literally makes my day.


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